The 21-year old singer-songwriter, rapper (and sometimes actor) from Hackney is gearing up to release his debut album early next year. Coming off his recent summer hit ‘Wanting’ and latest track ‘Cash Train’ with Blade Brown, Not3s (pronounced Notes) is ready to take the world by storm. At this point in anyone’s career, it’s important to reflect and digest all that they have achieved, to fully understand the work they’ve put in and how meaningful their accomplishments are. Not3s he claims his greatest achievement is being able to turn his life around, so let’s take a look at his life over the last 4 years.
He’s Here for a Reason
Not3s has a reason to be here, just like how he has a reason for there to be a 3 in his name (take note of him, money notes and music notes). Taking it back to 2016 when Not3s first released Addison Lee, a song based on the rival courier franchise to Uber. He then saw his first big success with ‘Addison Lee‘ in 2017 when it went viral. The young artist had only been working on music for 2 years at the time of its release. He told Word of Mouth ‘I just thought let me do my thing properly because I’m the ting everyone shall know about one day.’ and this came to fruition. Addison Lee which had 1 million streams back in 2016, now has over 6 million on Spotify. Which is just one milestone of many for the young Popstar.
Inspirations
Not3s has been inspired by many different areas of his life. When he was arrested shortly after turning 18, it pushed him to take his career and future 10x as seriously. He highlights J Hus, and Giggs as examples of how working hard on your craft can change your life for the better. His father’s music production has also been something that pushed him into music as a way to form a closer attachment to him when he was younger.
Collaborations
2017 was the year that Not3s released My Lover, peaking at number 14 in the UK chart and 5th place on the UK R&B Chart, his first platinum certification. The remix featuring Mabel has now reached over 36 million views on YouTube!. Mabel and Not3s went on to create another gem ‘Fine Line’ which reached number 14 on the UK charts last year.
For Not3s, working with other artists is a way to get exposure but also to better yourself and learn from others. The music Not3s puts out for his solo releases provides depth to the situation he is singing or rapping about while the verses or choruses on collaborative works may only show one page of a book.
I’ll Be What I Want
When it comes to pushing against the curve and following a career you love Not3s has wanted his music to be seen as pop rather than other newly formed genres such as Afroswing which can be portrayed as a way to box in artists rather than letting them be what they want.
This year Not3s has doubled down on his music game. He released Wanting which has to date over 12 million streams on Spotify. He added AJ Tracey’s Floss to his set of features (following their collaboration on Butterflies) which has peaked at number 22 and I’m sure his latest collaboration with Blade Brown ‘Cash Train‘ will be the next to hit the top 40.
With an album due to come out next year and new tunes in the air, it seems that Not3s is set to have the nation’s eyes on him next year. You can listen to the official Apprentice Nation playlist featuring some of Not3s’ best tracks to get in the mood for the concert on 8 December. If you haven’t signed up hurry as tickets are running out, don’t forget to tell your friends! Do an Action Day, get a ticket!
